Blog Archives

Mitchell, Brian John – Worms #6 (with Kimberlee Traub)

Website

Worms #6

And the spinning wheel of Brian John Mitchell comics lands on… Worms!  Regular readers of this site and/or Brian’s comics know that the guy has a half dozen series (at least) that he’s working on at any given moment, usually with a few more that come out less frequently.  “Less frequently”, in his case, still means more often than most comics that are the ONLY comic put out by other creators.  He has an impressively prolific record, that’s what I’m trying to say.  In this issue of Worms our heroine wakes up after having been eaten by a giant worm (not to be confused with the smaller worms that have been in past issues).  She seems to have developed a rapport with the creature, so she leads it along with three other worms to attack the complex that has been holding her captive.  Some serious mayhem, and it’s almost adorable on these tiny pages.  There’s one thing that’s clear to me after reading all the issues (except #1) of this series: I still only have the vaguest idea of where this is all headed.  I know that Lost Kisses is going to be self-contained stories of his lost loves, Just A Man is going to keep going until the hero learns what happened and gets his revenge/gets killed, but this one is so surreal that it feels like it could have ended a couple of times already, or it could just go on forever.  I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, just something I’ve noticed and haven’t been able to talk about due to my “no spoilers” policy.  Anyway, as always this is worth a look, unless you haven’t read the other issues in this series, in which case it won’t make a lot of sense (but at least Brian is smart enough to put series recaps at the start of his comics).  $.75

Mitchell, Brian John – Worms #5 (with Kimberlee Traub)

Website

worms51

Worms #5  (with art by Kimberlee Traub)

There are probably a few of you out there who have been reading this series thinking “Sure, this is an odd comic on a number of levels, but I haven’t been creeped out enough by it”.  Well, your prayers have been answered!  The escape from this institution (if that is in fact what it is) continues in this issue, as our heroine listens to the voice of her dead father (who is helping her to escape), makes her way out and then has to deal with the same people who shot at her last time.  This time around she seems to have come to terms a bit more with the worms in her system, and it’s all I can do not to give anything else away.  Let’s just say that Brian seems to have a gift for taking stories that seem to be going full steam ahead and veering wildly in a completely unexpected direction.  Anyway, I’m along for the ride, as clueless about where this is heading as anybody else.  That’s assuming you’re already reading this, and why wouldn’t you be?  All these tiny comics for that tiny amount of money?  Plus the (as close as you can come in the comics world) guarantee that this guy is committed to the comics and will keep cranking these things out, so you won’t get dumped in the middle of a story?  Seems obvious to me.  $1

worms52

Mitchell, Brian John – Worms #4 (with Kimberlee Traub)

Website

worms41

Worms #4 (with art by Kimberlee Traub)

Bits and pieces coming to light, that’s what this series is all about.  This time around our heroine has a dream in which her dead father tells her that it’s time to wake up, while she still can.  Upon waking she sees that instead of a ceiling above her bed there are storm clouds and silent lightning.  One bolt of this lightning hits her IV, which has the odd effect of making her fine with the worms that are coming through it and into her body.  It also gives her the energy to try to escape again, which is when her nurse comes in to check up on her.  There’s no sense of my telling you much more than that, as there are few things worse than a suspense comic with no surprises, but we do get to see a bit more about the people holding her captive and, perhaps, why that security guard from a couple of issues ago seemed to be bloodless.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: send the man a pile of money so he’ll send you a pile of tiny comics.  It’s so simple!  $1

worms42

Mitchell, Brian John – Worms #3 (with Kimberlee Traub)

Website

worms31

Worms #3 (with art by Kimberlee Traub)

With a suspense comic it’s best to leave the specifics alone for as long as possible, as that generally ratchets up the suspense, and Brian does an excellent job of that here.  We do learn in this issue why the title of the series is “Worms” (at least a little bit), but as for everything else… who knows?  Our heroine from the last issue wakes up strapped to a bed, hooked up to an IV.  She quickly sees that this IV has worms swimming in the liquid, then she sees that one of the creatures is swimming through the tube to her arm.  Things get even more disgusting from there, believe it or not, and we’re left to wait until the next issue (if then) to get some idea of where exactly she’s being held and why.  It didn’t take me long to get hooked on these tiny comics, but they’re like minuscule bundles of comic crack.  You get a little tiny taste each time of what sure feels like a master plan, unless of course he’s making it up as he goes and has me completely fooled.  Worth checking out either way.  $1

worms32

Mitchell, Brian John – Worms #2 (with Kimberlee Traub)

Website

worms21

Worms #2 (with art by Kimberlee Traub)

This is damned near the perfect tiny suspense comic.  Things happened in the first issue of which we’re quickly and efficiently informed in a succinct one page synopsis, then it’s off to the story.  A woman wakes up with someone trying to get a gun away from her and quickly finds herself captive in a hospital.  Or, at least, she thinks it’s a hospital, although a bit of exploring on her part makes her question that assumption, or at least question that it’s as easy as all that.  Kimberlee’s deceptively simple artwork somehow manages to ratchet up the suspense, Brian more than holds up his end with the words (and throws in an excellent cliffhanger to boot), and I’m liking this format of tiny books with one panel per page more and more.  What’s this, five of his books reviewed now?  I can safely say that anybody who sends this guy $5 or so for a small pile of comics won’t come away disappointed.  $1

worms22